Walking
by helios101
Summary: [12/Danni]Based on DanniFielding's 'Time Child' series, a one-shot from Clara's POV. "When it came to the universe, this Doctor had far less to give, his hearts had hardened…And Danni was close to walking. Why was this so hard? Why couldn't they see what everyone else did: they'd never loved each other more. The Doctor might not 'hug' now…but his wife was the exception to the rule"


**Disclaimer:** _This is a_ _one-shot based on_ _ **DanniFielding'**_ _s Doctor Who stories_ _. Set in series 8, incorporating some of the information provided in her drabbles on 12 and Danni, it addresses the change in the twelfth Doctor's behaviour around Danni and what it could mean._

…

 _ **~Walking~**_

 **Clara's POV**

It was hard.

So hard.

She kept expecting to see him grin. That huge, wonderful, in-love-with-life grin. But it never happened.

This was a different man.

A different Doctor.

Swallowing, Clara deliberately angled her body so that she didn't have to look at the still strange face behind the rotor, fiddling with the metal casing around one of the levers.

"Where's Danni?" She asked quietly, the confidence she'd felt around _her_ Doctor nowhere to be found.

The ground beneath her feet abruptly shook, flinging her to the side as the familiar sound of controls echoed around the Tardis control room.

"Upstairs," Clipped and hostile, Clara only nodded at the Doctor's reply, knowing better than to enquire further.

He hadn't taken her 'interference' well last time.

"Will she be joining us?" Angry at how timid her voice sounded, she cleared her throat, determined not to be intimidated by the Time Lord's decidedly frosty demeanour – It's not like this was unusual anymore – "I mean, I know that Danni mentioned wanting to see the Great Exhibition before. I'm sure…she…" The words trailed off at the blank look the Doctor was sending her way, dying in her throat. "…Never-mind."

"That's what I thought," The Doctor stated shortly, returning to his task of piloting the Tardis.

And Clara couldn't help looking down.

She knew she hadn't been handling the Doctor's regeneration well. She saw the hurt sometimes flash across his eyes whenever she hesitated just that little bit longer than she used to before grabbing his hand to run. But she was trying.

Honestly, she was too worried about the state of Danni and the Doctor's marriage to focus on her own lingering concerns for long.

Because they really, _really_ , weren't doing well.

She's seen them. The comments that one would take out of turn, always assuming intended insult. How Danni would instinctively reach for the Doctor's hand when she was feeling nervous, only to be cut to emotional ribbons when he just as instinctively shied away. The times where the Doctor held open café doors, gently holding her back so Danni could enter first, but she never saw.

They didn't…understand…each other anymore.

And it was killing them.

She might still have issues with the Doctor. Clara wasn't disputing that. But she also knew that she wasn't important right now.

Because Danni was close to walking.

Hadn't the blonde done this before? Seen the Doctor change? She was sure Danni had told her about Nine and something about Rose-ten.

Why was this time so different for the couple?

 _So_ hard?

Because they loved each other.

They really, really did.

And it was _so_ clear.

Everyone could see it. Strangers. Women they passed in the street. Even the kids in her class knew those two were a pair. Everyone could see how desperately Danni and the Doctor loved each other…everyone but them.

Danni didn't hear the unspoken, unwritten rule in every horrible comment the Doctor now made about humans – 'Why can't you be more like my Danni?' – the blonde never realised her husband simply didn't see her as only human any longer, so what was there to be offended about in his thoughtless comments?

The Doctor didn't see what his physical distance did to his wife. This new man couldn't seem to comprehend that every time he shied away from contact; Danni assumed it was because she wasn't good enough to provoke such a want in him. That it was slowly killing her confidence in his feelings for her. That even now it had reached the point that Danni was starting to think this new Doctor _wanted_ to be alone. That he'd be happier without the burden of constantly having to try to look like he was happier with his young wife at his side as he would be without.

They didn't understand each other anymore. And it wasn't getting better.

"Have you asked her if she wants to come?" Clara heard the question leave her mouth before she had time to think better of it. But it didn't matter. This question she wanted an answer to. "I mean it, Doctor. Have you actually told Danni that I'm here? Where we're going? …That you'd be much happier on this adventure with her by your side?"

With a flourish, the Doctor spun, taking off towards the doors.

"Doctor!"

She watched his shoulders heave, as if dragging in a deep breath of patience.

"She knows you're here, Clara," The deep Scottish brogue was clear in the control room but the Doctor never turned to face her. "We always pick you up on the same day," He ignored her derisive snort, continuing, "Danielle knows what day it is. Ergo, I must conclude that she doesn't wish to join us on our adventure." Suddenly, he turned, fixing her with a dark look. "Satisfied?"

Her jaw clenched.

"Danni!" Clara bellowed, deliberately holding gazes with the Doctor's suddenly wide eyes, waiting as the sound of footsteps quickly reached the top of the gantry.

"….Clara?"

Turning, a smile pasted on her face, she nodded up at the confused-looking blonde currently rubbing sleep out of her eyes as she looked between her and her silent husband.

"What are you doing here? Didn't we just drop you off?" Danni asked with a confused look in the Doctor's direction.

Doing everything she could not to let her jaw drop in surprise, Clara forced a light laugh from her throat, waving airily at the tardis around them.

"Time machine, Danni-Girl, remember?" No wonder the blonde hadn't come to greet her! She'd just gone to bed! "The Doctor and I are about to go see the Great Exhibition, want to come?"

As soon as the question left her, watching the way Danni's brown eyes lit up with delight, her gaze flicking excitably to her still-silent husband, Clara could only feel her heart sink.

What had become of them?

"Just give me two seconds," Danni commanded, holding out her hands beseechingly as if worried they'd take off without her, "I'll be quick, I just need to change. Don't go anywhere."

And then she was gone, flying back down the corridor towards the wardrobe room.

Clara turned slowly to face the Doctor, unsurprised but still unbelievably sad to see the bewildered look on his face as he stared after his wife's fleeing figure.

"…You have _ask_ , Doctor," She said quietly, wrapping her arms around her. "Danni's not a mind-reader, she doesn't automatically know your wacky plans. And she'd not snubbing you by deliberately choosing to stay in the tardis." He turned to face her. "You have to _ask_."

Clara watched silently as the Doctor slowly nodded, taking in her words with a seriousness she knew spoke of the deep love he still held for his wife. A love he just couldn't seem to translate to the blonde currently running around upstairs, gathering together an outfit for their day out.

It was all well and good that he wasn't a 'hugging person'. That was fine. If he never hugged her again, Clara didn't really care.

But that wouldn't cut it with Danni.

He didn't like it? Get over it. Physical comfort wasn't something you could turn off and on and expect your spouse to accept.

He wasn't a hugger? Fine. But Danni _had_ to be the exception to that rule.

And Danni had to realise and accept that this new Doctor didn't work in words. He wasn't flowery or comfortable with long speeches of love. But that didn't mean he didn't show his feelings for her in countless other ways. And Danni had to learn to recognise them. A small touch against the small of her back, wordlessly holding doors open for her, always making sure he was positioned between the blonde and a possible threat…Danni needed to learn to see those actions for what they were…

A love that had only _grown_.

Because it had.

Clara had seen the eleventh doctor. She knew him. She knew how important his wife was to him, how much he loved all of humanity. But this Doctor? Twelve? His hearts were harder. He'd lost some of that unwavering faith her Doctor had always had in humanity, and he'd become colder for it.

But not for his wife.

When it came to the universe, _this_ Doctor had far less to give.

"I'm ready!" A beaming Danni shouted from the galley, rushing down the steps to stand in between Clara and her husband, shooting excited looks towards the tardis doors. "What are we waiting for?"

"…Nothing," The Doctor murmured with a small quirk to his lips, pushing the blue doors open with an inviting arm, waiting for Danni to walk through. "After you, my dear."

But all that meant, Clara thought silently as she watched Danni and the Doctor smile hesitantly at each other, was that this Doctor had so much _more_ to give his wife. More than even her Doctor.

If they could both only _see_ it.

They were more in love with each other than ever.


End file.
